The Shadows Between us, written by Tricia Levenseur, is a thrilling young adult fantasy. Alessandra Stathos always felt underappreciated, so when her sister is married off to a noble, she seizes the opportunity to go to Court. Alessandra wants power. She schemes her entrance and blatantly ignores the King, which creates the exact effect she desires. The king notices her and invites her to stay at the castle.

Thirsty for power, she wants him to fall for her, propose to make her his queen and will stop at nothing to do so. Once crowned, Alessandra intends to kill him so that she can run the world. Though, Alessandra will quickly realize that the task will be harder than she initially thought. Someone else is trying to kill the King, but she can’t allow it before she is made queen. With morally gray and sometimes downright evil characters, this book is full of intrigue, royal plots, and unexpected twists. 

When I first started reading this book, I thought right away that this story would be different. I was nervous about the main character as she appears with no morals, but as the story progresses, I realized how good this was. I simply adored how Alessandra who is as cunning as she is selfish got me to root for her in the space of a couple of chapters. I still had my moments where I didn’t like her so much, but overall, I still wanted her to succeed.

This story certainly kept me on my toes with all the obstacles rising throughout the book. The mystery around who wants to kill the king is also very enjoyable. The Shadow King is a very interesting character. His magic is interesting and you want to know what his secrets are. To me, he felt older than nineteen in this book. His personality is a sharp contrast with Alessandra’s and they seem to have the same moral standards. They complement each other perfectly. I particularly enjoyed how his character evolves and how unpredictable he is.

Two things I really enjoyed in this book and how Alessandra and the king break some standards in this world. Alessandra is a feminist and inspires the people around her not to accept a situation they wouldn’t choose for themselves. She helps them be happier. The second is that this book kept surprising me in the plot twists. There are many things I didn’t see coming to the point I couldn’t stop reading. This book is a five star for me.

Do yourself a favor and read it!